Everton must go all out and revive interest in this 21-year-old defensive midfield ace to replace Idrissa Gueye

Everton Opinion: Why Lucas Tousart will be a good fit for the Toffees?

According to a report from France
Football, Everton wanted to sign Lucas Tousart from Lyon as a replacement
for Paris Saint-Germain target Idrissa Gueye in January. But the Lyon ace didn’t
wanted to join the Toffees in the January transfer window and as a result,
Gueye was forced to stay at Goodison Park.

Marco Silva’s Everton did manage to keep hold of Gueye from
the grasps of PSG but come summer, the potential Ligue 1 champions could make a
move for the Senegalese again. In fact, Gueye remains keen
on a move to PSG and hopes the French giants revive their interest in the
summer.

It’s clear Gueye is set to leave Everton for a bigger club at the end of the season as he nears 30. That said, the Merseysiders should reignite their interest in Lucas Tousart and make an attempt again to sign him.

Tousart, 21, has been a regular fixture for Lyon since the
2016/17 season. He has impressed with his combative displays in the middle of
the park especially this campaign, emerging as one of the promising young
midfielders in Ligue 1. The Frenchman has made 33 appearances across all
competitions, including seven in the Champions League.

The 21-year-old is a defensive midfielder by trade, known
for his tackling traits, ball-winning skills and high work rate. Tousart can
keep hold of the ball in the middle of the park and deliver the key passes to
launch attacks. He is a very shrewd passer of the ball and reads the game very
well to influence the game.

The former French youth international’s ability to make space for himself and his teammates remain underrated. Calm and composed on the ball, Tousart possesses the technique to break opposition attacks with his tackling traits.

Also, the 21-year-old is a brilliant long-range shooter and his physical presence and aerial ability make him an asset on both the ends of the pitch.

At 21, Tousart has already shown his qualities in the Ligue 1. He is a player with massive potential and under the guidance of Marco Silva, could certainly take his game to the next level.

Conclusion

Everton will surely need a player to fill Gueye’s boots if he leaves this summer. And Tousart, due to his ability on the ball, defensive prowess and energy, fits the bill perfectly to replace the Senegalese at Goodison Park.

Everton should go all out to sign this 2018 World Cup star to reinforce attacking unit – Here is why

Everton Opinion: Silva should make a move for Ante Rebic in the summer

According to the Calciomercato, Everton are keen on bringing Croatian international Ante Rebic to the Premier League in the summer, with manager Marco Silva keen to bolster his attacking options.

Rebic was one of the key driving forces behind Croatia’s fairy-tale campaign at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, as the 25-year-old featured regularly to help his nation make it to the finals for the first time in their history.

Rebic has continued his good run of form in the Bundesliga as well, registering 8 goals and 3 assists from 20 appearances this season.

Along with the likes of Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller, Rebic has been instrumental in transforming Eintracht Frankfurt from a mid-table side in the Bundesliga to Champions League contenders.

He helped his club make it to the Europa League with a successful campaign last time around and his blistering form has once again kept his team in the race for a top-four finish this season.

Meanwhile, Everton got themselves back to winning ways in the Premier League with a well-earned 2-0 victory over Chelsea at home, thanks to second-half goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison. A lot was expected when Marco Silva took charge at the start of the season but the Toffees have been far too inconsistent in the Premier League to impress their fans.

Silva has plenty of issues to sort out relating to squad depth and dipping into the transfer market in the summer would definitely help his cause. The Toffees need more depth in their attacking options to provide competition for the likes of Theo Walcott and Bernard, both of whom have been pretty ordinary with their performances this season.

Richarlison and Sigurdsson have been the standout performers but they have been left with too much to do at times, with youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin being the only other player to have made a real impact in the final third.

Everton need to find an alternative to Cenk Tosun, and even if the Toffees consider Calvert-Lewin as a good enough option to replace the Turk, an established international like Ante Rebic can help them improve massively in the final third.

Rebic is known for his pace, power, dribbling and athleticism, whilst also boasting of uncompromised work-rate to go with his incredible eye for goal.

The Croatian has appreciable upper body strength which should allow him to cope with the physical nature of English football while his pace, directness and willingness to run at defenders should make him a perfect fit for Silva’s system which demands the wingers to burst forward with pace and attack the opposition’s full-backs.

Furthermore, Rebic’s versatility to play up front as a lone striker, on either flank and also in a No.10 role behind the striker should boost Silva’s team dynamics significantly.

Everton are capable of finding the answer to their defensive woes by signing this 21-year-old ace for around £5m

According to a report from the
Daily Mail, FC Basel centre-back Eray Comert is attracting interest from
Premier League clubs Everton and Arsenal.

Eray Comert, 21, has been excellent at the back this season for FC Basel, where his strong performances have caught the eye of many clubs across Europe.

Clubs like Everton and Arsenal apparently have hopes of bagging a cut-price deal in the summer because the 21-year-old defender has rejected two extended contract offers with Basel as his existing deal expires at the end of next season.

The report
claims Basel, therefore, will listen to offers from around £5million
to avoid losing Comert for nothing if he does not sign a contract extension.
Keeping that in mind, Everton should do everything in their powers to beat
Arsenal for the signature of Eray Comert.

The Toffees spent heavily during last summer’s transfer window, but they have really struggled this season. Marco Silva’s debut season at the Goodison Park hasn’t gone according to the plan with his side not doing enough to challenge the Big Six of the Premier League.

Without any second thoughts, Everton need reinforcements and Silva must prioritise strengthening his defensive department.

Michael Keane and Kurt Zouma have formed a strong partnership at the back, yet the Toffees have conceded 42 goals in 31 games thus far.

Yerry Mina hasn’t made much of an impact as he had hoped of after making the switch to the Merseyside from Barcelona last summer, while Phil Jagielka will turn 37 in August. Above all, Zouma will return back to Chelsea after the expiry of his loan spell in the summer.

Silva should avoid a potential burnout of options and bring in Comert to bolster his defensive ranks. Comert joined Basel’s youth system in 2009 and progressed through the various age groups before making his first-team debut in February 2016.

He has been a regular fixture for the Swiss giants since then, impressing with his robust, tough-tackling defending. Standing at 6ft 1in tall, Comert isn’t the tallest of defenders but still, he’s strong in the air and has a decent turn of pace. He is calm and composed on the ball and has a good sense of positioning as well.

The youngster is an impressive tackler and excels with his marking inside the box.

Conclusion

To put things into perspective, Comert is a promising young
defender who can be a welcome addition to Everton’s ranks. He has a sky-high
potential and should Everton sign him for the £5 million fee that has been proposed,
it could turn to be a real bargain for the Merseysiders.

Everton Opinion: Toffees should make a move for Madrid’s Martin Odegaard

The 20-year-old began his professional career in his native land at Stromsgodset in 2014 and was snapped up by the Los Blancos in 2015. He featured for the reserve side and made only a couple of first-team appearances before being loaned out to Dutch outfit Heerenveen in 2017.

Following a mediocre loan spell at Heerenveen, Odegaard was once again shipped out on loan to Vitesse Arnhem at the start of the season and the Norwegian international has come under the limelight for his impressive performances this term, registering 7 goals and 6 assists in all competitions.

Odegaard has starred down the right-hand side of the pitch for Vitesse, impressing with his blistering pace, sound technique, sharpness, agility and dribbling skills.

Predominantly a left-footed creative ace, the youngster has the versatility to play on either flank and also through the centre in a No.10 role.

Blessed with a good turn of pace and a wonderful eye for picking out key passes in the final third, Odegaard has a wonderful technique which allows him to run with the ball glued to his feet and keep excellent close control in tight areas along the flanks.

The Norwegian is capable of creating his own space in the midfield by outsmarting the opposition with sharp turns, clever changes of direction, intricate touches and nimble footwork, whilst he can also create plenty of opportunities with his flair on the ball and vision.

Furthermore, he often tends to make surging runs into the penalty area and has a penchant for scoring goals with his magical left foot.

Odegaard boasts of a pass accuracy percentage of 79.3 and has averaged 3.3 key passes, 2 crosses, 2 accurate long balls, 2.2 dribbles and 2.3 shots per game in the Eredivisie this term.

Those are really envious stats and the fact that he has 6 man-of-the-match distinctions to his name shows that he is a player who is maturing very fast.

To put things into perspective, Everton should weigh up a move for Odegaard next summer, with reports claiming that Real Madrid might be willing to part ways with the creative ace for a fee of around £17.1 million. Marco Silva needs to add at least another creative midfielder to his ranks in the summer and the Norwegian certainly fits the bill.

Everton got themselves back to winning ways and registered their first victory in the Premier League over a top-six side this season as the Toffees stunned Chelsea 2-0 at home on Sunday.

However, the fans haven’t had much to cheer about this season, with the club struggling for consistency in their first season under Silva despite spending a fortune last summer. Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson have been the standout performers for the Toffees in the final third but the likes of Bernard and Theo Walcott haven’t hit top gear.

Everton’s struggle for creativity in the final third has been apparent and they need to sort that out in the summer to score more goals next season and challenge for a top-six spot.

Signing a replacement for Cenk Tosun remains a priority but a back-up creative midfielder is also needed to increase competition for places in the midfield.

Odegaard, with his quick feet and ability to play anywhere across the attacking third, might turn out to be a handy signing for the Toffees. His exploits in the Eredivisie doesn’t guarantee success in the Premier League but the youngster can become a star in a couple of seasons if he fulfils his massive potential.

Everton successfully completed a triple raid on Barcelona last summer and they should set their sights on Real Madrid’s out of favour star this time around in a bid to add more cutting-edge and depth to their attacking options.